Are you looking for the “Ones”?

 

Have you ever thought about the fact that Jesus cares for individuals? Yes, I know that you know that he cares for us. He died on a cruel cross so that we could have life eternal. But did you ever stop to think about the example he set for us when it comes to caring for the individual? The “one”.

In our day and age, often we see churches running huge programs and ministries that promote community and connectedness as a whole, but sometimes, and this is not always the case, sometimes the individual is overlooked.

Jesus’ ministry focused on individuals. Yes, he preached to massive crowds and worked with large groups of people, but it wasn’t all about numbers. It wasn’t all about crowds.

He wasn’t concerned with counting heads and keeping tally.

He was interested in the “one”. Just think of all the examples in scripture where Jesus took time to reach out to the “one”.

In John 9, we read of a man who Jesus touched, both spiritually and physically. He made clay from the dust and touched the man’s eyes, and once the man had washed, he came away seeing. Jesus had taken time to stop and heal the eyes of a man born blind.

In John 3, we read of Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, coming to Jesus by night. I see them sitting on a rooftop in the cool of the evening, Nicodemus asking his questions and Jesus giving him the answers he sought. Jesus wasn’t too busy to take the time to help a confused Pharisee.

In John 20, we find Mary Magdalene, grieving for her Lord, in agony of spirit, seeking comfort, and Jesus comes to her alone, and speaks words of life to her. He met her in her hour of need.

In John 4, we read an interesting statement, “And he must needs go through Samaria.” Why did Jesus need to go out of his way to the town of Samaria? Because there was a woman that would be at a particular well, at a particular time of day, that had an appointment with Jesus. She didn’t know this was going to happen, but her life was about to be changed. Jesus went searching for the “one”.

Even at the point of death, in excruciating agony, Jesus took the time to reach a soul for eternity. He extended forgiveness and granted eternal life to a common thief.

Over and over in the Word of God, we read of Jesus seeking out the “one”. He singled them out. He picked them out of crowds, he peered up into the branches of a tree to extend an invitation, he held out his hands to a doubter, he appeared in miraculous form to a simple Hebrew watching sheep in the desert. He realised, as we need to, that each person is unique, and each person has their own set of unique problems that need a unique, personalised way of being dealt with.

Luke 19:10 KJV - For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

The Lord Jesus came to earth to seek and to save the lost. He came to die. He came to bring new life. He came to bring hope. He came to bring comfort.

So where are the “ones” in your life?

Are you looking for the “one”? Are you actively searching for those that are hurting? Those that are in need of words of comfort? Those that desperately need Christ and the hope and life he offers? Are you looking for opportunities to be a blessing and encouragement to others on a one-on-one basis?

I’ve heard it said that there are 3 types of people:

The ones who care

The ones who don’t care

And the ones who need care.

The ones who care are people with a mindset like the Lord Jesus had in his ministry on earth. He reached out to those in need. He was sensitive to what was going on around him and he was alert and watchful and was always looking for the “one” in need.

Being someone who cares will cost you. It will cost you time. It will cost you money. It will cost you emotionally. Sometimes your reputation will be stained, just as the Lord Jesus was looked down upon by the Pharisees of his day, because he became known as a friend of sinners. (Luke 7:34) When you choose to help someone that no one cares about, you may get judgmental looks, or whispers of disdain. Your time will not be your own. There will be times when you have to drop everything to go to someone in need. Your plans may get upset and your schedule may get rearranged. Yes, being a person who cares will cost you.

But there are those who don’t care. There are those who are apathetic and are the takers of this world. They are happy to take but never give. They are self-centred and only interested in what benefits them. They see ‘things’ more important than people. Their possessions, their time, their money is all consuming and people are simply a means to an end. Their eyes are blind to those that are hurting. They attend their churches with closed eyes and ears, oblivious to the tears of an aching heart. Unaware of the soul that’s hurting, the child that needs comfort, or the one that’s barely making it through each day. They sit in their worship services, hoping only for something for themselves. They simply don’t care.

And then there are those in need of care. We all need care, and we all need distinct things at different seasons of our lives. But if you are sensitive and on the look out for those in need, you will see these ‘ones’. These ones in need of care.

There are so many ways that a person may need care. And often, the care they need can only be given by you, because of your particular personality, cultural background, life experiences or knowledge.

The trials we’ve been through, the lessons we have learnt, the wisdom we’ve been given, the comfort that has been extended to us is meant to be passed on.

Why do you think this passage is in the Bible?

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 KJV - Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

One of the reasons God comforts us and teaches and heals us, is so that we may be able to help someone else in their time of need.

He expects us to pass it on.

God expects us to learn from our trials and then in turn become a comfort, blessing and encouragement to someone else who is facing similar things and in need of a friend to come alongside, exhorting, helping, and showing love and compassion.

I have found in my life as I look back on my most difficult seasons, that at the time they made no sense and I wished them away, praying that God would free me from them. And yet all the while, he was preparing me for what lay ahead. He was putting me through the fire in order that I could be a help to someone facing those same flames with fear and doubt and in desperate need of a friend, a comforter, an encourager, someone to be an example of God’s amazing mercy. He put me through the fire so that I could pull someone else out.

Because of the strength God had built in me and the resolve and determination and the knowledge that God could do it for me and would be able to do it for them, I was able to reach out to the “one” that God brought across my path and miracles happened.

We need to remember that the most important ‘need’ is soul care. The world looks for care in all the wrong places. They search for it in diet. They search for it in mind-numbing substances. They search for it in relationships. They look to programs and 5 steps to success promises and yet they are left unsatisfied.

The reason is that only Jesus can satisfy. Only Jesus can bring peace and happiness. Only he can fill the emotional needs of a soul. We can only do so much in our own strength. We must have the Almighty hand of God undergirding all our endeavours.

I had a very good friend remind me of something very important and it really helped me at the time as I was reaching the “one” and needed encouragement.

She said, “Your job isn’t to be her Saviour, it’s to point her to the Saviour.” What a blessing it is to know that the Holy Spirit is there to lead and guide us and help us have the words to speak, but even more comforting is the knowledge that it’s not up to us. Our job is to point others to Christ.

All our words, our advice, our well-meaning, well-rehearsed words of comfort are all meant to point those we seek to help, to the Saviour. We should be constantly redirecting their gaze to the face of Jesus.

And so, I ask again, where are the “ones” in your life?

In all your groups and programs and ministries and churches, where are the individuals that God would have you seek out? Where is that one that with God’s enabling power, only you can reach? Where is that one that needs to hear of your past victories so that they can rejoice in the knowledge that there is hope?

Ask God to open your eyes and show you who he has put in your path that you can show the love of Christ to. Ask God to give you a sensitive and compassionate heart that hears the cries of the hurting even before you see the tears fall.

And when you have the chance to be a blessing, give God all the glory. He knew what he was doing in putting you in the right place at the right time. You are unique and God can use you, if you let him.

 

(Below is a poem I wrote in 2008, after a particularly hard season in my life.)

THE COMFORTERS

 

Something is needed in this world,

Of which many know nothing about.

People are crying out for help.

They are searching throughout all creation,

They are seeking in all the wrong places.

And sadly, they are going undetected,

By the masses that pass them by.

But, they need not fear,

God has raised up a people to help.

He is schooling and training by fire,

Those he wants to fill this need.

Through trials and tribulations,

He is bringing  forth a people,

Who through their suffering have learned,

To comfort the trembling heart,

To ease the afflicted mind.

They have learned the meaning of sorrow,

They have felt the fear of pain.

They have wet their pillows with tears,

And know what it means to despair.

But through it all they have studied,

And prayed and sought the Lord.

Theirs is now a ministry of comfort.

A life set apart for others.

They have searched the scriptures for encouragement.

They have meditated on the word.

They have gleaned the precious promises,

And have claimed them for their own.

And the time will come when a weary soul, full of hurt and pain,

Will be comforted by the comforters,

God has so aptly trained.

Their kind and compassionate words,

Will help to strengthen a heart.

They will lead the suffering soul,

Into a path of light.

They will guide them out of the darkness.

With a loving and gentle hand.

They will hurt with the hurting,

But will not give up,

When the pain becomes too much.

For they have learned from the TRUE Comforter,

How to treat an aching heart.

Through their fiery trials,

They have discovered words of comfort,

To help the despondent soul.

And oh, the comfort they can bring,

For through the fire, they too have been.